Atmanirbhar golfers make comeback on the greens
Lockdown 4.0 is drawing to a close. The slew of relaxations announced were aimed to bring life back to normalcy as we reconciled to the fact that coronavirus is here to stay longer than we anticipated.
The government’s guidelines for the present phase said sport complexes and stadia will be allowed to be open but spectators will not be allowed. The game of golf that had been in quarantine after hitting pause was restarted on May 20 much to the relief of golfers in Chandigarh and its adjoining towns.
Detailed guidelines were issued but the most important one was that no caddies would be allowed. Another challenge
AFTER TWO MONTHS OF RUST AND IN THE ABSENCE OF CADDIES, THE WINNER WAS DECIDED IN FAVOUR OF THE TEAM THAT LOST FEWER BALLS
was to play in the hot weather because of the delayed start, respecting the nationwide 7pm to 7am curfew timings.
But the enthusiasm to play overshadowed the challenges. With compulsory masks obscuring identities, greetings of fellow golfers were muted.
Since it was a historical moment, four of us took a selfie, smiling behind our masks. It was finally time to tee off. Three of us hit wildly, sending the ball in all directions. The fourth hit straight and all eyes rolled in unison towards him. “How come a straight drive despite the rust on the clubs and the swinging arms,” one of us exclaimed, taking into account that no golf was played in two months.
Without caddies, we pulled our own trolleys like amateur golfers abroad.
No sooner had the tee-offs finished than disaster struck. One of the wheels of a trolley came off putting our plans to play in jeopardy. Damage control measures were taken and a cart facility was requisitioned. We golfers go all out to ensure the game continues despite the odds.
The next job on hand for three of us was to find golf balls that had gone into the deep rough. After a struggle for five minutes, only one ball could be retrieved, while two were lost. But there was hardly any remorse for we were playing together after two months!
The golf course looked inviting with fabulous fairways that resembled a green carpet. For the first time, it felt the grass could not be greener on the other side. The putting greens were rolled out to give a smooth shining surface.
We found the next hole was better as only one ball was lost. The reading of the line for putting without caddies was a challenge and surprisingly there were occasional miraculous putts in an otherwise endless series of tragedies.
Generally, the four balls are divided into two teams of two each and scores are counted for bogeys/pars/birdies to decide the winner. After two months of rust, the winner was decided in favour of the team that lost fewer balls.
Playing nine holes without caddies and in the hot weather was like playing 14. Nevertheless, a fun day to remember as our enthusiasm was unmasked and unlocked to accept the new normal. Most importantly, it was a small step towards becoming Atmanirbhar golfers.